Mississippi State University almost lost the winningest basketball coach in the program’s history. Almost.
“At the end of the day, there was no way I could walk away from Mississippi State,” 12-year head coach Rick Stansbury said.
Clemson University is in the market for a basketball coach after Oliver Purnell left the team to take over the program at DePaul University.
Stansbury was apparently at the top of their list, and Clemson began negotiations with the Bulldog head man Saturday evening.
Presumably, Clemson offered Stansbury a significant raise from his current salary, but he said an increase in pay is not what he was seeking.
“It wasn’t about money at Mississippi State,” Stansbury said. “I’m coming back not expecting a raise. I’m not gonna get into the details about Clemson, what their situation was.”
Stansbury said MSU President Mark Keenum stayed in contact with him and let him know how much he wanted the Stansbury family to stay. “It’s tough enough we’re losing Greg [Byrne],” Stansbury said. “This situation popped up and didn’t make it easy for him [Keenum]. He’s done everything as a president to make sure we understood the value of how committed he is to Mississippi State, basketball and our family. We didn’t need that insurance from him in anyway, because we already knew what he was about.”
Stansbury consistently turned away questions about contract details, but he did admit the offer was on the table for him to move to Clemson.
He acknowledged that, “They made it very intriguing, very intriguing.”
Stansbury said it was a tough time as he mulled the decision, but said his whole family was involved in the process, especially his wife Meo.
“My wife would throw some gasoline on it at times, then she’d come right back behind me and throw water on it,” Stansbury said. “When we could tell Clemson that we were no longer interested, there was a peacefulness with both of us.”
In fact, Stansbury said his wife was not the only person he consulted for advice.
Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan, who flirted with leaving the Gators for an NBA job, asked a question that Stansbury said helped put things in perspective.
“He said, ‘Rick, are you comfortable, and are you happy?'” Stansbury said. “There was no question about either one of those.”
Stansbury said he considers Donovan a good friend, and said he was the perfect man to hear from in this situation.
“Billy Donovan shared a lot of things, because he’s a coach that’s been through exactly what I’ve been through” Stansbury said.
If his tango with Clemson has any fans worried he may still be on the market, Stansbury that is certainly not the case.
“It’s very obvious we’re here for the duration,” he said. “Been here for 20 years already. Some times it just takes something to make you realize how good you got it.”
A man who has always emphasized the importance of family, Stansbury said he had a responsibility to at least hear Clemson out.
“When another team called, I owed it to my family to listen,” he said. “Through this process of listening and learning, it’s made me realize again just how special a place Mississippi State is.”
Stansbury said he found himself weighing the pros and cons, but there were just too many reasons to stay in Starkville.
“What is there not to like?” Stansbury said. “Like people said, we’ve got some of the best fans in the Southeastern Conference. Loyal fans. For the most part, I don’t think anybody could have a more loyal base of fans than we have here . The positives outweigh the negatives. And after all this, what those negatives are, I’m not sure now.”
Outgoing Athletic Director Greg Byrne said having Stansbury stay at MSU was a very happy ending to the short story of his recruitment by Clemson.
“We’re very happy that Rick Stansbury is the basketball coach at Mississippi State,” Byrne said. “That’s a very fortunate result for our university.”
Byrne said he will have discussions with Stansbury about his contract, but that a raise will not be the primary concern.
“Just like any year, we’ll sit down at the end of the year and look at the contract,” Byrne said. “We anticipate sitting down and getting him back to four years.”
The maximum length allowed for Stansbury’s contract is four years, but he said he anticipates being here much longer than that.
“At the end of the day it came down to family and doing what was best for our family,” Stansbury said. “There was no way I could walk away from our fans and what everyone’s established here over the last 12 years.”